Day Forty-Seven: Marshall Crenshaw - Marshall Crenshaw

Warner Bros. Records ■ BSK 3673

Released April 28, 1982

Produced by Richard Gottehrer and Marshall Crenshaw

Engineered by Thom Panunzio, Jim Ball [Assisting]

Mastered by Greg Calbi

Side One:	Side Two:
There She Goes Again Someday, Someway Girls . . . I'll Do Anything Rockin' Around in N.Y.C. The Usual Thing	She Can't Dance Cynical Girl Mary Anne Soldier of Love Not for Me Brand New Lover

Another of my "Black X" titles that indicates a $1US purchase at Musik Hut, I first heard Marshall Crenshaw via the same tapes that introduced me to the video for "Oliver's Army", though the song I saw a video for was "Whenever You're on My Mind", from Crenshaw's follow-up to this album, Field Day. I knew the song wasn't on here, but figured for $1 I'd live, and figured I knew "There She Goes Again" and could justify the purchase with that. It was an unusual choice: the "Whenever" video cropped up a few times in those tapes, and the first few times did nothing for me. At some point though, it suddenly clicked and ran through my mind pretty regularly. So, seeing this at that price (being a non-major classic rock title, it also ensured it was probably in really solid condition, which it is), I figured--why not?

Day Forty-Three: Communist Daughter - Soundtrack to the End

Grain Belt Records ■ GBR013

Released June 7, 2011

Mixed by Brad Kern

Mastered by Greg Reierson at Rare Form Mastering

Side One:	Side Two:
Oceans Soundtrack to the End Not the Kid Speed of Sound Northern Lights	Fortunate Son Coal Miner In the Park Tumbleweed The Lady Is an Arsonist Minnesota Girls

Since I moved a few months ago, there has been a serious decline in my concert attendance. Of course, that's the inevitable difference between living twenty minutes from a venue where you can see independent artists to your heart's content, eventually catching a small French band that was told repeatedly that they would have a great time playing there--and a place where an hour's drive would risk reckless driving-level speeding tickets to manage for any kind of established show. As a result, I've been to two shows since moving, one at the suggestion of my father (to see Tom Russell in a tiny bar), and one of my own accord, intended to put my foot down on seeing an artist I'd let slip by a number of times. The latter was Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, touring on the back of a live album that will work its way in here eventually.

Day Thirty-Two [Belated]: Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

EMI ■ KAB1/EJ 24 0384 1

Released September 16, 1985

Produced by Kate Bush

Engineered by Del Palmer, Haydn Bendall, Brian Tench, Paul Hardiman, Nigel Walker, James Guthrie, Bill Somerville-Large

Mixed by Brian Tench

("Hounds of Love" and "Mother Stands for Comfort" mixed by Julian Mendelsohn)

Hounds of Love (Side One):	The Ninth Wave (Side Two):
Running up That Hill (A Deal with God) Hounds of Love The Big Sky Mother Stands for Comfort Cloudbusting	And Dream of Sheep Under Ice Waking the Witch Watching You Without Me Jig of Life Hello Earth The Morning Fog

With an opening note: Most reading this shortly after writing are already aware, but this entry was delayed (checking the posting dates and times will confirm this for anyone else). I apologize for the delay and can only do exactly that, really. I didn't want to listen to this album or write about it while half asleep, as that would basically define the experience and render the whole point of doing either moot. It could have interesting effects, certainly, on my perception, but I can't imagine many but the most esoteric (and vaguely pretentious) would actually aim for half-asleep listening to their work. Of course, esoteric isn't really unfair in this case, but...

Day Twenty-Two: Big Star - Radio City

Ardent Records ■ ADS-1501

Released January, 1974

Produced by John Fry and Big Star

Engineered by John Fry

Side One:	Side Two:
O My Soul Life Is White Way Out West What's Going Ahn You Get What You Deserve	Mod Lang Back of a Car Daisy Glaze She's a Mover September Gurls Morpha Too I'm in Love with a Girl

I was left in a vague lurch on this one: I got seven people to vote on which Big Star album I should talk about, and 3 picked #1 Record, 3 picked Radio City, and one lone voice (which I very well might be able to guess) picked 3rd. In the end, my friend Brian suggested I consult my friend George¹, and so the dilemma was resolved. Honestly, it indicated to me basically exactly what I'd suspect. I don't know, naturally, what motivated any votes (not even a single one, this time)--whether it was familiarity or gut reactions to titles or research or what. Still, it tends to be a very thin line between #1 Record and Radio City if you ask anyone who knows, and then a decent minority that prefers the frustrated, misanthropic nihilism of 3rd (aka Sister Lovers, but the version issued and reissued on vinyl bears the title 3rd). I was stuck myself--I have personal attachments to either, songs I love on both, a very mild preference and contrasts in stories of acquisition (one's interesting, one isn't). I couldn't complain about ending up with any of them (though I'd stumble a bit more with 3rd, if I'm honest). If one marked out a ratio of amount of recordings versus listneing time, Big Star would likely be at some absurd height in my listening record. The only known set of statistics comes from my last.fm listening habits. You'll note Big Star comes in quite soon, and behind artists that released at least twice as many albums.

Day Twenty: The Beatles - Abbey Road

Capitol Records ■ SO-383

Released September 26, 1969

Produced by George Martin

Recorded by Geoff Emerick and Phil McDonald

Assistant Engineering by Alan Parsons

Side One:	Side Two:
Come Together Something Maxwell's Silver Hammer Oh! Darling Octopus's Garden I Want You (She's So Heavy)	Here Comes the Sun Because You Never Give Me Your Money Sun King Mean Mr. Mustard Polythene Pam She Came in Through the Bathroom Window¹ Golden Slumbers Carry That Weight The End² Her Majesty³

 ¹Tracks 3 ("You Never Give Me Your Money") through 7 ("She Came in Through the Bathroom Window") are often thought of as a medley

²Somewhat unbeknownst to me, 8 ("Golden Slumbers") through 10 ("The End") are also thought of as a medley. It does make sense, though.

³Unlisted on original issue. This pressing does not include it on the outer sleeve, but does list it on the label.

Yesterday, I was tasked--by either the gushing overconvidence in me or sadism practiced upon me by friends and family--with discussing the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. I'm not sure it turned out all that well, but I felt a bit out of place with it--many people seem to see me as quite knowledgeable musically, but I don't think that piece of writing bore that out. It tends to make patently obvious my limitations in the music theory sense. The iconic nature of the cover above--along with the overall reputation of the music within it--is not something encouraging insofar as escaping that same trap on this immediately following day. However, it occupies an odd place. The most iconic Beatles album remains Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and I would definitely feel about it the way I felt about Pet Sounds: a need to correctly place it in pop history and acknowledge that monolithic and kneejerk placement of it. It's the sort of thing that's generally no longer defended--it just is the greatest album of all time, or whatever. Whether it is or isn't doesn't get addressed in a lengthy way most of the time anymore: it's mostly the brainwashed kind of "Oh, Sgt. Pepper," or the "I refuse to be brainwashed" response of "Anything but Sgt. Pepper." As a result, despite being voted the best Beatles album with some regularity by both aggregated response and individual judgment on many occasions, Abbey Road often appears behind Sgt. Pepper, Revolver, and Rubber Soul in many a list of more general selections (the 1960s, all time, so on). That it is also my own personal favourite Beatles album does me no harm in my comfort.

Day Nineteen Bonus Track(s): Bad Veins - "Falling Tide" b/w "The Lie"

Dovecote Records ■ DCR 0012/DCR 0011

Released: ??, 2007

Produced by Bad Veins, Justin Baily, Daron Hollowell and Jonathan Fuller

Engineered by Justin Bailey and Johnathan Fuller

Mastered by Steve Girton

A-Side: Falling Tide	B-Side: The Lie

On my previous blog, I had a single poll, really, and it was to narrow the direction of my planned listening, in a more general and randomized sense than the ones I kept here. I matched Wire, the Skids, Dinosaur Jr, Slade and Bad Veins--a pretty weird blend overall, even if all of them are or were rock in some form or other. Dinosaur Jr ended up winning, probably indicative of the people I know. Bad Veins did reasonably well, and I knew at least one person who put in a bote there. I knew the same for Slade, for that matter. I never got around to writing about any of them but Dinosaur Jr (who won)--I just felt too overwhelmed by the volume of material, especially as compared to what I felt like I knew.

As time has gone on, Bad Veins has remained the most "limited"--they've released 2 albums and not much more. They were floating around the "legitimately" indie scene (in the sense of limited distribution, low-fame, independent in actual senses of divorce from industry clout) even when I saw them live. They opened for We Were Promised Jetpacks, who I saw completely on a lark, having forgotten the show was even occurring at the time. I ended up having hard cider for the first time (on the recommendation of a friend--via text, no less), but wandered in for the latter half of Bad Veins' set. I normally show up at concerts at door time, or even sooner. This time, because it was so delayed (not to mention a venue I had never been to or even seen), I was a lot later though.

When I looked up at the stage, I saw two guys in pseudo-military dress with a podium and a reel-to-reel tape player, a rotary phone receiver attached to the microphone stand (leading to its base attached to the podium) and a covering of seeming wallpaper on that podium. One was manning drums, the other at the mic and playing guitar. It was an odd sight, to be sure. That this was the band opening for the post rock-inflected Scots who I knew as openers for The Twilight Sad (who I knew as openers for Mogwai) would have left me confused if the band who preceded We Were Promised Jetpacks when they opened for the Twilight Sad wasn't Brakes, the English pop/rock band. Still, these were Americans, so I was left a bit confused all the same.

It wasn't long before the strains of Bad Veins infected me at the show, though. It was catchy stuff, and the "gimmicks" didn't feel gimmicky so much as creative and vaguely quirky--the telephone was used to distort Benjamin Davis's vocals much like megaphones are used (and, indeed, he used one of those, too). Sebastien Schultz' drumming was solid, forceful rock drumming, too, and there was a nice weight to their songs--and the reel-to-reel (nicknamed Irene, I'd later find) gave a more full sound than the pair could have otherwise produced.

I snapped up the only thing they had with them at the show--a 7" of two songs, paired with a CD designated for the year's tour (2012) and a download code for their first album (home-typed and printed, clearly!). I had the pair sign it (as you can see) and went on my merry way. The CD was actually composed of songs from their then-forthcoming album, The Mess We've Made, while the single was actually a pair of songs from their self-titled first album, released in 2009.

"Dancing on TV" was probably the catchiest song from the show, as well as the lead song on that CD, but that means, of course, it wasn't on the single itself. The single is still in the same style the band sticks to, though: Schultz on drums and Davis on keys and guitar, singing, in a style that's unique and somewhat difficult to describe. It's very strongly enunciated, and quite exaggerated, and seems to carry a sort of hangdog happiness--strange though that may sound. It's as if he's drained of energy in a part of the sound, yet the range and modulation he puts into his voice betrays the lie of that notion. It gives them a bit of their own character, and it's a good and enjoyable character to have.

"Falling Tide" is the louder song, a simple drum machine (tape loop, I'm guessing!) intro that very quickly turns to a real drum and a rumbling bass as Davis sings in that style of his, defining the melody. The chorus throws a spray of keys back at us and kicks in the guitar, but, most important, lets us hear the best part of Davis: his choruses. "I never would have held it back if/I thought that we'd get through"--and it's that through, dragged through a sliding range of notes and three extra syllables. Absolute singalong in the best sense.

"The Lie" is the lighter companion. A ticking timer starts the track, and then in comes Davis' voice, extra clear and completely up front, right in front of you in the mix, and only a calm, quiet keyboard line follows him for the entire first verse. The second verse shifts the keys up an octave or so¹, and halfway through adds a looped pizzicato violin. And then we get the chorus: "'Cause sometimes, sometimes to get by/I believe in the lie". Davis again is happy to give a single word multiple notes, and Schultz enters, too, as does a bass. A flute section, and the rhythm section get to follow him into the second repetition of the verses, and we get to hear that great chorus again--and Davis finally lets loose the third time through, and you hear his voice at full energy, the entire song coming upward with a faux chorus. The final, long-held instance of the chorus is perhaps the most exciting, and fades to the somewhat hesitant sound of his voice seeming to realize what he's singing: he has just sung loudly of his habit of getting by by pretending. That little note of reality creeps in and the song falls to a stop.

You know, I'm not going to pretend that I'm in a space where there needs to be some kind of absolute ground-breaking, totally unique element--I've never demanded nor always appreciated that, it has to be done right. And so does a catchy song--and Bad Veins do it right, and have done. Given the right exposure they could--and should--get a lot more fans. If the engineer I know who has done sound for them (completely without my prior knowledge, mind you!) can appreciate them in his tendency toward the weirder, darker (and often more country or folk, but edged) kind of things, then that should say something, I think.

Most of the 7"s I have fit into the space one would expect a 7" to fit in: they are catchy singles that are readily digested and immediate, great to listen to and enjoy as much as you want--not necessarily shallow, but accessible. Bad Veins is no exception, and none of that should be taken as anything but endorsement.

While we're here, there's actually the video of "Dancing on TV" from the very show I attended, embedded here for your enjoyment:

¹Let's remember I'm not great at music theory, but that feels right? 

Day Nineteen: The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Brother Records/Reprise Records ■  2MS 2083

Released May 16, 1966

[This release: 1972]
Produced by Brian Wilson

"This recording is pressed in monophonic sound, the way Brian cut it."

Side One:	Side Two:
Wouldn't It Be Nice You Still Believe in Me That's Not Me Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) I'm Waiting for the Day Let's Go Away for a While Sloop John B	God Only Knows I Know There's an Answer Here Today I Guess I Just Wasn't Made for These Times Pet Sounds Caroline, No

When I initially put the selection of Beach Boys records I own up to a vote(on vinyl, though the CD set is actually not much different), I debated listing this one as it physically presents itself. Those familiar with the album may notice (probably immediately) that the cover looks a bit strange. Truth is, this is actually a compiled double album, paired with Carl & the Passions - So Tough. It's a weird looking thing, and one I own as yet another of the doubled (in the case of Pet Sounds, I think tripled or more, really) records my dad let me take. I'd call it the "crown jewel" of that set, but there are albums I like more personally (including my other Beach Boys record, Surf's Up), but as something to blurt out at others it sounds more like it validates my taste and knowledge.